Sunday, March 16, 2014

TV: No, it wasn't a feminist skit

"So let me get this straight," writes Tammi in an e-mail in response to our "TV: A week of putrid and puerile" last week, "a real feminist hosts the show and writes this amazing feminist sketch endorsing Planned Parenthood.  You should be praising her.  You should [***]damn be on your knees, kneeling before her.  A honest to God feminist sketch makes it onto network TV.  But all you can do is attack it.  You're like all the other haters who refuse to praise Lena for her talent but attack her for her looks.  It really says something about a person when they make their point by attacking someone's looks.  And you call yourselves the voice of feminism?  You should be ashamed."

First off, we present a feminist viewpoint in a feminist voice.  We have noted many times that feminism is not one monolithic voice but a series of voices.

While Lena Dunham did present herself as the voice of a generation (see the first episode of her awful TV series) and HBO marketed that to the press which ran with it, we have repeatedly stated we are "a feminist voice" and not "the voice of feminism."

Second, Lena's an exhibitionist.



And she appears to think that she can be one and just receive praise for it by insisting it's "fat shaming" to note her weight.  You do nudity on camera repeatedly and you're an actor or actress, your body's going to get commented on whether you're Richard Gere or Lena Dunham.



We've noted here before that TV is a visual medium and we will comment on visuals.




We do understand Lena Dunham says it is wrong to do so.

She says that.

She doesn't practice it, but she says it.

So what it really looks like is she just says it to attack people that don't like her.

The skit you praise, Tammi, the whole point is that the thick-accented stranger doesn't like the body of the man.  Did you miss all those insults?



So overweight Lena says it's fat shaming to note her gross obesity but does a skit where a woman rejects a man because he's 'puny'?

In the sketch, Bruce is described as a "little skinny guy" and laughed at for having "little arms."

So fatty wants to make fun of skinny but wants to say no one should talk about how grossly obese she is?

In the skit, the woman whom Bruce has brought to America tells him, "I don't like your body.  I don't like your face "

And she does so to the glee of the other women present.

And Lena wants to whine that she's being fat shamed?

No, it doesn't work that way.

The phrase we all learned as children was, "Don't dish it out if you can't take it."

Lena Dunham has problems with people of color.

We noted that and questioned why she was attacking Scandal in a parody instead of a show that didn't feature women of color?  How about the mighty NCIS instead?

But let's point out that Lena Grand Dragon Dunham's big 'feminist' moment involved a dumb woman of color and the 'actress' Lena spoke slowly to her implying she was more than just dumb.

The skit had the woman of color excitedly exclaiming,  "He fights the equal pay of men and women!"

The 'feminist' sketch had the woman of color too dumb to grasp what that meant.

The woman of color needed White Jewish Lena to explain it to her.

At another point, a condescending Lena asks, "Marisol, do you know what Planned Parenthood is?"


No, she doesn't.

So she's lucky to have White Lena to explain to her, "It's a place where women can go for low cost medial advice and care."

What a  lie.

Planned Parenthood itself explains, "Planned Parenthood delivers vital reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of women, men, and young people worldwide."


A feminist sketch?

It can't even use the terms "abortion" or "reproductive rights."  It takes the very specific mission of Planned Parenthood and waters it down as though its work is too 'outrageous' to be supported if explained truthfully.

That's feminism?

And how about the skit offering that he's the way he is now because when he was 18 his heart was broken?

That's why he turned into a men's rights activist.

Seriously?

That's how we reason in a 'feminist' skit?

Because most people -- men and women -- have had their hearts broken as teenagers.

And that's another reason the skit failed.

Do we want to talk about how the skit re-enforced sexist gender roles?

Or how the man was rejected for his looks?

It was a skit where a group of White women gang up on one "little skinny guy,"  ridicule him -- including for his body --  and 'save' the sole woman of color whom the skit presents as both dumb and too dumb to save herself.

We're struggling, Tammi, to see how anyone could describe that skit as feminism?

As for bowing down to Lena?

That's not feminism either.

Feminism isn't a fan club for a woman.

Feminism is about empowering women -- plural.

Feminism is about all women becoming what they can be.

Tammi, you've fallen for a queen bee and relegated yourself to drone status.

It's your life and you can do what you want with it but don't try to pass it off as feminism unless you're willing to be called on it.

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